Spice Root — Restaurant in Williamstown

We spent the whole morning at Williams College on a wonderful April Spring day. We walked all around with a tour guide constantly walking backwards. We were in an awkward group of people who you don’t know, will never see again and we didn’t know why they were there. Were they forced? Were they cajoled? Well, one place we were not forced or cajoled to go to was lunch at the Spice Root. One of the places the tour took us to was this nice little street near the campus with shops and restaurants. We love Indian food and we opted to NOT go to the campus cafeteria, frankly because our tour guide didn’t talk it up. Kind of bashed it. So we walked back to the SPICE ROOT as we had made a mental note of the location. We bumped into another family that was on our tour, but we sat down thinking it was a hit or miss type of a place. Not crowded, we sat down all 6 of us. We ordered and sat back ready for anything. The decor was nice and the day beautiful but we were happy to be out of the blazing sun for a time. We glanced around and we observed on the TV in the restaurant the owner had the Indian Premier League Cricket game on. We watched, we laughed and we tried to figure it out. We could not. But ultimately I called the owner or the boss over and asked questions. He said it was like baseball which I didn’t believe. Our lunch came and boy was i surprised. The presentation was not something I was expecting. The food came out in separated classic school lunch metal trays. It was great. In each section of the tray was something, either rice, or the main meat dish with sauce or a veggie or a snack. We all sat there and literally inhaled the food. It was so good. We shared, we kept watching and heard from our oldest who had Googled Cricket rules online. We were able to pack up a bit for dinner later but nobody wanted to, we all wanted to finish it there. What a great place and by the time we were done the place was still quiet. The boss’s girls came in or the owner’s girls. I’m not sure. They came in and sat at the bar for kiddie drinks with dad and cricket was over. We a great hour we spent there at the Spice Root. I highly recommend the Chicken Tikka Masala which most of my family had including our youngest who has a food allergy. And I got a more spicy version of the the Tikka Masala. The cost was a bit steep but spread over 2-3 meals it was all good. Thank you Spice Root! What a great ending to a great day in...

Firstly, fiod was also sub par. Missing authentic Indian flavors. Only tastes sugary or spicy. Missing all other flavors of herbs and vegetables. Secondly, We called 3 hours before closing, were told that they will see if they can accommodate us because they were very busy but then they hung up. When we arrived, they had a table available. The owner took our order, and when the order came, 1/2 was missing. When we asked for 2 missing entrees and 2 Naan orders missing for half our guests, they brought them 20 minutes after, by which time half of our guests were already done with dinner. Among 5 entrees, only 1 rice was provided for the whole party of 9. We ordered papad for the entire table, only 3 pieces were brought to us. Napkins, silverware were never provided. We asked for them over and over until my husband just went himself to get them, at which point he was told "here they are, you can take them". At the end, we went up the pay the bill, check wasn't even brought to us. The person ringing us out asked how was our dinner. When we told him what we experienced, which we honestly wouldn't have done if he hadn't asked, he said rudely, what can I do now that your dinner is already over? You're right, you can't do anything now, you should have done it earlier. You should have apologized earlier. You should have brought out the utensils and napkins prior tp us asking for them 3 times. You should have provided us dinner plates instead of appetizer plates for dinner. And there were many other things wrong with the whole experience but really we didn't want to ruin anyone's night. I can honestly understand an oversight, but it could have been corrected at many opportune moments. I always say, we go out to eat for the experience and service. We aren't there to do the restaurant a favor. We would would eat at home if we were serving ourselves all the things that are a part of dining out. He told us we don't have to pay if we don't want to. But not only does that sound like we were looking to snub a bill, but also, we weren't seeking to not pay for our food rightfully. Although, the price on dining out is honestly too exagerrated if the service...

My wife and I enjoyed the first real "comfort food" Indian meal in the Berkshires at Spice Root. And by comfort food I mean the kind of meal you expect from a family run Tandoor restaurant where they seem to care about what's being made -- with results that my wife likes to call "earnest." In other words: sincere, deliberate, and thoughtful. I can't comment on the lunch specials, as we always order family style, but the chicken tikka masala, lamb biryani, and matar paneer are solid, savory, and heart warming dishes. The only criticism my wife and I have is that they lately have been putting far more sugar in the sauces. But the mango lassi is divine -- not too sweet, and not too tangy -- and the chai is balanced and strong.

That said, the prices do seem a bit high for the portions, and some things were a bit skimpy. The small single bowl of basmati rice, for example, wasn't sufficient for even me, let alone for the both of us. And we were a little surprised that the slender mug of chai was so pricy...especially since it wasn't refilled for free as many Indian restaurants will usually do.

As for the service, our experience was excellent. I would not hesitate to bring family and friends to this restaurant for a relaxing and enjoyable meal. The only critical encouragement I would offer the owners of Spice Root would be to replace the shredded awning they have over the tables outside, which does little to block sun or rain, and only draws attention to the only thing at this restaurant that seems...